Hosiery



June 16, 1942. L D WAGENHQRST 2,286,659

HOSIERY Filed Oct. 2, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Lesiar Dwajenhorst :Slmcntot June 15, 1942- l.. D. wAGl-:NHoRs-r 2,286,659

HOSIERY Filed 0G11. 2, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 gummwajmhmz nven or Patented June 16, 1942 2,286,659 p l HUSIERY Lester D. Wagenhorst, Reading, Pa., assignorto The Nolde and Horst Company, Reading, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application October 2, 1941, Serial No. 413,243

4 Claims.

My invention relates to weft-knitted hosiery having a turned welt top portion, and to its production on a straight-bar or full-fashioned knitting machine;

My primary object is to provide for turning a very short welt, if desired, as little as onehalf inch, not heretofore deemed possible, and giving a novel and pleasing eiect of a ribbonlike finish to the top of the stocking.

Another object is to provide a novel initial loop course to be engaged by the welt bar in a manner to facilitate transfer back to the needles in turning a welt, requiring less exactness in reengagement, and forming an improved and less bulky line of junction with the course of loops with which it is interknitted.

Another object is to provide a novel tension take-up means which may engage in the short welt and initially lie close to the needles and free of contact with the loop forming sinkers. divid ers and knock-over bits.

Another object is to provide for these improved results without disturbance or interference with the usual known knitting mach'ne mechanism.

With the aforesaid objects in mind. and with other objects that will later herein appear, my invention comprises the new method and means for producing the same, hereinafter more fully described in connection with the accompanying drawings, the novel features of which are particularly set forth in the appended claims.

Fig. l is a conventional side view of a, stocking embodying a preferred very short top welt portion in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a much enlarged diagrammatic plan view showing of an` initial weft laid yarn projected between the needles to form a usual course of loops.

Fig.- 3 is a like plan view. showing the loops of Fig. 2 engaged by the hooks of a welt bar. with alternate loops held from engaging in the beards of their needles.

Fig. 4 is another like plan view showing several courses of the knitted fabric. and the welt bar hooks engaging and holding spread the initial course of loops.

Fig. 5 is another like plan view showing the spread loops being transferred onto the needles, the knitted fabric underlying the turned portion of the welt being omitted as confusing to a clear disclosure, but indicating a portion of my novel take-up bar in place within the turned welt portion.

Figs. 6 and 'I are enlarged diagrammatic crosssectional elevations of a needle bar such as indicated in Figs. 2 to 5, with its associated sinkers, dividers, and knock-over bits; Fig. 6 indicating a welt bar hook engaging a loop of my special initial course, and a picot bar point holding a loop away from engaging 4under aneedle beard; and Fig. 'l' showing the turned welt with the initial course of loops reengaged on the needles, and my novel take-up bar engaged within the turned welt and lying free of contact between the sinkers` and knock-over bits.

Fig. 8 is a separate small scale plan view of my novel take-up bar; and Fig. 9 a cross sectional -view of the same indicating bridge on which it travels and means for preventing its turning on its longitudinal axis during such travel.

The making of full-fashioned weft-knitted stockings is of course well known, as well as the means employed to form a turned welt, comprising a. Welt-bar to engage the initial course of loops and transfer them to the needles in a subsequently knitted fabric course, at which time a rod is ordinarily inserted within the turned welt and attached to a take-up roll so as to exert a necessary draw-off tension on the fabric being knitted. The turned welt thus formed is a recognized commonly employed way of securing the otherwise free end loops of the initial course, and the depth of this welt has varied with custom and demand, but is necessarily of a depth of approximately two inches as the narrowest welt that could be practically made commercially. This approximate length was the practical minimum to insure manual pressing off of the loops from the welt-bar to the needles. and to space .i the take-up rod out of the path of the advancing sinkers and dividers and away from the knockover bits.

The desirability of simplifying the loop transfer from the welt bar and making it free from faults due to a missed loop engagement, as well as the making of a narrower welt to save time and material in knitting the stocking, has long been recognized, but not practically possible heretofore. The manner and means for making my improved welt now to be fully described, accomplishes both the aforesaid objects in a feasible and commercially productive manner, with a less bulky and more elastic course of the interknitted loops of the initial and terminal courses of the web fabric and with a pleasing narrow welt giving a ribbon-like finish to the top of the stocking.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1, indicating a stocking embodying my invention, the leg portion I and foot portion 2, are knitted as heretofore, and this ligure shows my new narrow turned-welt 3, which may be as little as one-half inch in depth, as contrasted with the usual welt of approximately four inches in depth, and the heretofore minimum of approximately two inches. The portion 4 below the narrow turned welt 3, may be knitted as desired, but is preferably made of a somewhat heavier yarn with several picot courses as indicated both for guarding against runs and for a pleasing appearance, this portion 4 ordinarily extending about the depth of the usual deep turned-Welt and terminating well above the knee of a wearer.

My improved initial course of knitting to facilitate loop transfer from a welt bar to the needles, as illustrated in the drawings, is made as follows: A yarn carrier is traversed along the line of needles 6 to lay an initial weft 5 to the rear of the needles, which weft is formed, as heretofore, by the advancing sinkers and dividers 1, into sinker loops projecting forwardly between the needles, each of which loops is then engaged on its respective hook 8 of a welt bar having a hook for each sinker loop thus formed. At this point I provide for a special dipping operation of a usual picot bar, having picot points 9, 9 arranged to cooperatively engage the loop bends on alternate needles as heretofore. The picot bar movement is then arrested and, instead of shifting laterally to transfer its engaged yarn bends onto the adjacent needles, as in making a picot course, is for this special purpose moved upwardly, so that upon descent of the needles 6, the yarn bends engaged by points 9, will ride over, instead of un der. the beards of their needles 6, and clear the latter; the pull of the welt bar hooks drawing these needle loops to the front of their needles, as shown. An initial course of sinker loops III is thus formed, as indicated in Fig. 4, having substantially one half as many loops as originally formed, and each loop is held laterally spread by its engagement with two hooks 8 of the weltbar. Y

With the initial course of loops I thus formed and held by the welt-bar hooks 8, the picot-bar is withdrawn, and knitting, as usual, started to produce the necessary length of fabric to form the turned welt. For the present desirable narrow welt shown, approximately only one inch of fabric is required, at which point knitting is arrested, and the welt turned.

It is not possible to employ the usual take-up rod in this short welt, as it would interfere with the advancing sinkers and dividers which would tear and cut the fabric, and I therefore employ a special take-up bar I5, as later herein more fully described.

The loops I0 are transferred to the needles 6 by alining the welt bar hooks 8, with said needles; and due to the loops III being held in laterally spaced relation extending over two fabric wales. as shown, they readily and freely engage over two needles without the need of meticulous accuracy, or pressing down as heretofore; and while desirable that each loop III engage on two needles 6, it is not essential, and should one needle be missed, the other needle engagement would lock the loop against starting a run. When the welt is thus easily and quickly turned, knitting is resumed to nish the stocking as heretofore. My improvements do not interfere with the location of usual picot stitch courses as to finish the top of the turned welt, or located as desired for other purposes, as in the fabric below the turned welt,

which as before stated may be made of heavier yarn if desired.

'I'he new and improved turned welt and the construction thereof is set forth and claimed in my original application, now issued as Patent No. 2,260,960, dated October 28, 1941.

In order to provide a proper draw-off tension of the fabric being knitted, the requirement'for which is well known and understood in the art. I employ a special take-up bar I5, before referred to, and shown particularly in Figs. 8 and 9. 'I'his bar, as shown, is preferably comparatively thin and flat, of a width preferably less than one-half inch, and a length sufficient to span across a needle section of a machine so its ends may rest on usual side bridges I1 and travel thereon under pull of spaced straps IB, I8, from a usual take-up roll, notshown. The ends of this bar are preferably of reduced width and notches I8, I8 are provided to hold the straps I6, I8 from shifting their positions. These reduced width ends, as shown, desirably, but not necessarily, engage under guard track I9 on the side bridges so the bar will not turn on its longitudinal axis.

This bar I5, as before described, is laid within the turned welt, and as the strain of take-up tension thereon is in the plane of its flat width, giving a strength against bowing under pull of the straps I6, I 6, practically equivalent of a round rod having a diameter equal to its width. And its ends being engaged under the guard tracks I! are prevented from turning axially to maintain this resistance to bowing.

'I'he bar I5 being thin and narrow, may readily be set within even the short turned-welt above described, and when thus engaged, it may lie between the sinkers and dividers, and the knockover bits, as seen in Fig. 7, without danger of contact with the former as they are advanced during their usual operation. This bar I5 may of course be used for deeper turned-welts, and functions in the manner of usual take-up rods, with the added advantage of use for very narrow turned-welts as described.

My invention, above fully described, fully accomplishes my stated objects: The special loops I0 of the initial course greatly facilitate transfer to the needles from the welt bar, and, as they eliminate the heretofore necessary hand pressing down of the loops, permit of a very narrow turned welt, close to the needles, and leaving small space for such hand pressing. Should the loops miss the desired engagement with both needles to which they are intended to be transferred, engagement with one needle will prevent any danger of runs caused by such miss. And with my thin flat take-off bars a narrow turned-welt may be given proper tension without contact or interference with the advanced sinkers and dividers.

'I'he particular construction above specifically described, may of course be modified and changed within the spirit of my invention as defined in the following claims.

What I claim is:

l. In a full fashioned stocking knitting machine, the method of knitting a turned welt, which comprises forming an initial course of alternating needle and sinker loops, engaging each sinker loop on the hook of a welt bar, disengaging the loops from alternate needles by dipping action of a picot bar, to form intermediate sinker loops each held laterally spread by engagement with two welt bar hooks, knitting a plurality of usual fabric courses to a predetermined welt junction course, transferring each spread sinker loop to two needles in said junction course, interknitting each spread loop with said two needle loops in said junction course. and then completing the knitting of the stocking.

2. In a full fashioned stocking knitting machine, the method of knitting a turned welt, which comprises forming an initial course of alternating needle and sinker loops, engaging each sinker loop on the hook of a welt bar, disengaging every other loop from its needle by dipping action of a pioot bar to form one-half the original number of sinker loops each spread laterally by engagement with two welt bar hooks, knitting a plurality of usual fabric courses to a predetermined welt junction course, laying a thin flat take up bar on said fabric in front of the needles, betweenthe sinkers and knock over bits, turning the fabric over said bar and transferring each spread loop from said welt bar hooks to two needles in said welt junction course, interknitting each of said spread loops with two needle loops in said junction course, and then completing the knitting of the stocking.

3. A tension take-up bar for forming the turned welt of a weft-knitted stocking made on a full-fashioned knitting machine, Which-comprises a thin flat bar adapted to lie within the turned Welt close to the row of needles and in a plane between and free from contact with the sinkers and knock-over bits of said machine.

4. A tension take-up bar for forming the turned welt of a weft-knitted stocking made on a full-fashioned knitting machine, which comprises a thin at bar adapted to lie within the turned Welt close to the row of needles and in a pl'ane between and free from contact with the sinkers and knock-over bits of said machine; said bar having laterally projected at ends arranged to slidably engage lateral bridge tracks to prevent turning of said bar on its longitudinal axis.

LESTER. D. WAGENHORST. 

